Hello Ghost Village. =D My name is Krystal and I wanted to learn more about Pachaug State Forest in Voluntown. I know theres a few known locations that are said to be quite haunted within the forest (like Maudes grave for example) but I would really like to hear from other people and what they have experienced there in the forest. I'm more interested in learning about the legends that surround Hells Hollow RD, but any story involving the forest would be great. I've gone to Hells Hollow RD before and did a little investigating, but nothing really conclusive. I've heard many stories about the state forest and it really has intrigued me. I'll share a story that my boyfriend had told me of a time he went to investigate a cemetery located in the forest.

This took place about a year ago around this time of year. My boyfriend (Mike), his cousin (David), and 2 of our friends (Russ and Burt) had gone to Gallups Cemetery (Gallups Cemetery is located right off Cedar Swamp RD on Porter Pond RD if I'm not mistaken. It's a little cemetery) They were there at night and they were only equipped with a camera and a few flash lights. There was snow on the ground and it was rather cold out, so they decided they weren't going to stay for that long. Their plan was to simply walk around the cemetery and snap a few pictures. So they entered the old cemetery first admiring the old monuments but soon they started taking pictures. About a half hour into their little investigation they decided to pair up and go in seperate directions. Each pair started walking their own way when not even 2 minutes later, Mike and Dave were suddenly stopped by a "blood-curdling" scream. They said it wasn't like any kind of scream they have ever heard before. Plus it was so loud they thought it had woken up the people who lived next to the cemetery. So they looked behind them at Russ and Burt expecting them to be looking back at them, but they were still walking towards the back of the cemetery unalarmed. So Mike and Dave ran up to them and asked if they had just heard that and they both said they didn't hear anything. So at this point they decided to regroup and enter the woods at the left rear side of the cemetery. When they got to the woods they entered in a single file line. Burt was in the back of the line and he said while they were walking he heard someone (or something) sigh in his right ear. He looked to his right but no one was there. Burt said it felt as if someone was right next to him because the sigh had been so clear and close sounding. (Now this was Burts first time going on an investigation, and he was quite shocked and he thought it sounded crazy, so he didn't tell anyone until after they returned to their veihicle). But what happened about 10 minutes later that really struck fear into them was when they had all stopped because they felt like they were being watched. Russ took his flashlight and pointed it infront of him when Mike, Dave and Russ all saw a shadowy black figure move from the right side of the path to the left. (Burt said he coudln't see anything because everyone was blocking his view.) They said it was incredibly fast and it dissapeared just as quickly has it came. This really freaked them out and after witnessing this, they all ran back to the car and left the cemetery.

Burt, to this day, refuses to go on another investigation. However Mike, Russ, Dave and I are planning another trip back there soon. But this time I'm going to bring all of my equipment with us. I want to try out a few different methods.

I hope you guys found the story interesting, and I hope to hear from other people as well. =D

I too live in CT and was fascinated by Pachaug and it's legends. You may find the information about Maude in this link Truth about Maude. I actually had a copy of the news article which was well written and researched but unfortunately it was lost in a hard drive crash. My suggestion/theory about Maude Reynolds is just to let it lie, mere folklore.

What may prove a bit interesting is that the land that Pachaug now sits on at one time was all private. The State bought it all in the late 30's because the local farmers we feeling the hit from The Depression. It has been postulated by some that the anguish and turmoil that the people suffered in the area could have stayed around since. I have heard a few accounts of people feeling weary and sad when spending time in certain areas of the forest.

I am fairly familiar with Cedar Swamp Rd, and I will tell you that I caught a very odd voice like sound behind Cedar Swamp Cemetery. There is a path behind the cemetery that comes out to the the "Fire Road" located right past the cemetery on the right (going east). On that path is where we caught the anomaly.

Hope this helps. I would be interested in hearing more of your experiences out there.

-Pfled

"So even if you can't see it, you can still believe in it.It's easier if you lose all the things that prevent you from seeing it."-The Resistance by the Sam Roberts Band

Interests:I enjoy kayaking, hiking, geocaching, foreign films, suspense, cheaply-made action or slasher films, folklore, working out, keeping a myriad of friends and acquaintances, green tea, Pixies (the band), spontaneity and adventure! Oh, and ghost-hunting too of course, though I find its more like fishing.

Posted 01 May 2010 - 03:03 PM

Been to that location a few times. Its actually pretty nice because you have Hell Hollow right across that main road there with its own supernatural presence, Maude's grave and that very nice little cemetery. Without going into detail about personal experience, my group and I have gathered ectoplasm pictures hovering about 10' over Maude's grave and others around the foundation of the adjacent house. I don't believe any of the stories about her but strangely enough a friend of mine was in a car accident down there. Probably just one of those places where people crash and it gets blamed on the coincidentally nearby grave of Maude.
We also took some good orb and mist pictures in that cemetery. We kept getting this fat, slow, yellow orb-like entity which followed the girls around. We started calling it Fatty McButterpants hoping to get a rise out of it but to no recordable avail.
Finally we got an excellent little evp of a woman crying over on the path to the right side of the pond at the bottom of Hell Hollow Rd. Funny thing is I really wasn't expecting to get this despite the legend. I believed the woman-crying tale to be hogwash and was really surprised to get it. This was back before I knew where Maude's grave actually was and we were just wandering around. Actually, someone on this website gave me the correct directions to take the path next to the cemetery on Cedar Swamp Road.
Moral of this story, its a great place to experience the supernatural if not get some good evidence from the ghost soldier on the intersection of Hell Hollow and Breakneck, to Maude.

"The big brain am winning! I am the greetest! Mwa-ha-ha-ha! I must now leave Earth for no raisin! " -Chief Big Brain of Futurama

This location has interested me for a long time. Been there twice but didn't really do much investigating, mostly hiking. If anyone is interested in making a trip out there soon send me a PM.

HUNTMONEY, the PM function is not working for some reason, but Im currently planning on a trip soon. Pachaug is one of the places Im looking at. This will definitely be sometime in May, but Im still researching a few locations in NY, CT, NJ or PA. I'll keep you updated, in case u r still interested.

This location has interested me for a long time. Been there twice but didn't really do much investigating, mostly hiking. If anyone is interested in making a trip out there soon send me a PM.

HUNTMONEY, the PM function is not working for some reason, but Im currently planning on a trip soon. Pachaug is one of the places Im looking at. This will definitely be sometime in May, but Im still researching a few locations in NY, CT, NJ or PA. I'll keep you updated, in case u r still interested.

Thank you all very much for your replies. It has indeed helped me out. =D And I would like to report that myself and a few others had returned to the State Forest for further investigation. We decided to hike one of the trails off Cedar Swamp Rd during the evening. All we did was walk around on the trail and take pictures and we would take stops along the trail for short EVP sessions. Unfortunetly the weather decided to turn a little unpleasant at which point we turned around and headed home. So needless to say, it was a short investigation. And during the investigation we didn't experience anything unusual. And after replaying the recordings a few times, there was nothing interesting that came up. But we took many pictures and three of these pictures that I took have something unusual in them. None of us can think of an explanation. So I would like to show you guys these pictures in hopes that maybe you could help shed some light on this eerie subject. =D

In this picture there is alot of insects but we were wondering if that blue streak is a flying insect or not.

This one is a little harder to explain. I was taking a picture in the woods when my flash didn't go off, and I know there wasn't anyone in front of me and none of our equipment have a red light. We checked our cameras and recorders but they do not have any type of red light on them.

In this picture, on the right side of the first tree, my friends say they see a face. I can see it too, but I don't know what to think of it.

Well again thank you for all your help and I hope you enjoyed the pics!